Sherlock Holmes, The Red Tower by Mark A Latham
Dr Watson is still recovering from the death of his beloved wife, Mary. He is considering Holmes’ offer of a return to his quarters on Baker Street when an old friend, and aristocrat, James Crain, gets in touch to invite him to spend some time at his stately home, Crain Manor. Watson feels it might just be the tonic to take his mind off his woes (nice word that, not used nearly enough). But life is rarely simple and Crain is also in mourning for his mother. His grief has caused him to become heavily involved in spiritualism, a popular past-time with Victorians of leisure. He knows Watson is a skeptic and so invites him to be a witness as the mysterious Madam Farr holds a seance. It doesn’t go well.
Watson is not impressed with Madam Farr and her retinue. But he is vulnerable with his loss and Madam Farr is convincing, even if the practical and grounded Watson knows that she’s full of it. Other guests at the house are also wary of the spooky woman’s proposed powers. There is the reverend from the local village, a man desperate for the funds to repair the church; a cousin of Crain’s with a gambling problem, with his wife, and the solicitor for James Crain, and his wife. James himself is slightly smitten with a servant of Madam Farr’s and she, apparently, with him. The remaining two guests are Lady Esther Crain and her fiance, Geoffrey Melville. Esther is James’ gentle-natured sister, but she is currently on the warpath over Madam Farr’s presence in her family home and what she perceives to be the mystic’s attempts to fleece her suffering brother. Watson is starting to wonder if his visit is such a good idea.
During the seance, the usual incidents occur. Tables knocking; windows opening and flower petals falling from the ceiling, standard stuff for anyone who has ever taken acid. Watson is impressed, but not convinced. However, it appears that even Madam Farr gets a shock when a ghost appears, dressed in red, who then seems to disappear in a dead-end passage-way. The famed Lady in Scarlet has scared everyone. Esther, determined to demonstrate the foolishness of the entire enterprise to her brother, decides that she will spend the night alone in the tower of the stately home, reputed to be the place the ghost most usually frequents. It’s a bold and daring move.
Esther retires for the night, taking the only key to the room with her. The rest of the guests also go to their chambers to dream perchance of ghouls and goblins. But in the early hours disaster strikes. A scream wakens everyone and they rush to the tower. They must break down the locked door and once that’s done they find, to their horror, the corpse of poor Esther. She has died, apparently of fright, inside a locked room. How could this have happened? Who can possibly solve this conundrum? Why, the Scooby Doo gang of course! Just kidding, Holmes is sent for immediately.
The Red Tower is an Agatha Christie-esque type of mystery. We have the glorious setting, in a stately manor, with its requisite ghost. We have crooks and all manner of shady person. We have a seemingly impossible mystery to solve. But Sherlock adds that other dimension to the tale. His approach is a great deal more animated than Poirot and it makes for a very fine read.
The characters in this are strong. They smack of authenticity. The story rings true, especially when you consider the era. Holmes is not in the story for much of it, but when he does enter he, as usual, steals the show. His indefatigable logic is admirable, and perfectly balanced by Watson’s dubious nature. We see a sensitive side to Holmes in this also as he takes into account Watson’s emotional state. But Holmes is still Holmes, a whirling dervish of investigation with a reputation that precedes him.
Fans of Holmes may have noticed a plethora of stories involving the super-sleuth. Copyright for Holmes as a character expired in 2014, and so now anyone can write a story about the English detective. That’s why the book shelves are full of new Holmes stories. The estate of Conan Doyle must be severely peeved at this development as many of Doyle’s tales of Sherlock are still under copyright. However, the character and his associates are not any longer.
Whilst this can be a good thing with new adventures being presented to the public, it has its drawbacks. For one thing, not every author is good enough, or suited to write a Holmes mystery. Some just can’t get it right. This had led to many crap stories about the world’s most famous investigator. The Red Tower is not one of them and is excellently written and reasonably faithful to the original character. The other problem with Sherlock now belonging to the public domain, is that certain authors are creating their own back stories for Holmes. There is now conflict as to who Holmes was and is. Of course, the only true Holmes is the one penned by Arthur Conan Doyle, but it’s irritating when novelists are arrogant enough to change the nature of Holmes just to fill their own coffers. Apostasy? Perhaps, but should some things not remain sacred?
In The Red Tower Holmes wins through. Rebel Voice won’t spoil the story for you, but does advise that you read this book if only to compare the new Holmes, by a new author, to the original. It’s a delight when authors at least try to get it right. It should be noted that the author in this case, Mark A Latham, is an Englishman. Rebel Voice is of the opinion that it’s North American authors who are currently most guilty of taking liberties with the character of Sherlock Holmes. Writers on this, eastern, side of the Atlantic have too much respect to meddle with perfection.
Sult scale rating: 7.5 out of 10. It’s not ground-breaking or heart-shaking. Instead, this is a solid read in the mode of Doyle’s originals. Holmes is at his infuriatingly insightful best as he unravels what is a complex murder-mystery set in an English country manor. Watson narrates as usual as he plays Robin to the detective’s Batman, and the rest just fall sweetly into place around them.
Rebel Voice 